The Chicago Blackhawks acquired goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury from the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday.
ESPN reported Fleury’s $7 million salary next season is an obligation of the Blackhawks, who are sending forward prospect Mikael Hakkarainen to Vegas in the deal.
The 36-year-old Fleury won the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s top goaltender in 2020-21 and is a three-time Stanley Cup champion.
“The opportunity to acquire a Vezina-winning goaltender is rare and one you cannot pass up,” Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman said. “Marc-Andre improves our goaltending, strengthens our team defense and will have a huge impact on the overall development of the Blackhawks. Having a goaltender like this on our team will put the talent we currently have on our roster in a better position to achieve sustained success. The entire organization is thrilled to have this future Hall of Famer on our team and his reputation of being an excellent teammate on and off the ice precedes him.”
The Blackhawks were not on Fleury’s 10-team no trade list, per TSN.
Per The Athletic, Fleury learned of the trade through social media.
Fleury’s agent Allan Walsh also took to social media to announce that his client is assessing his options.
“While Marc-Andre Fleury still hasn’t heard from anybody with the Vegas Golden Knights, he has apparently been traded to Chicago,” Walsh wrote on Twitter. “Marc-Andre will be taking time to discuss his situation with his family and seriously evaluate his hockey future at this time.”
A puck-handling error in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup semifinals loss in the 2021 playoffs to the Montreal Canadiens cost the Golden Knights that game and flipped the momentum of the series. Fleury was benched for Game 4.
Fleury went 26-10-0 with six shutouts to go along with a 1.98 goals-against average and .928 save percentage in 36 games this past season.
Fleury has posted a 492-276-82 record with 44 shutouts, a 2.55 goals-against average and .913 save percentage in 883 career games. His win total is third all-time, trailing only Hall of Famers Martin Brodeur (691) and Patrick Roy (551).
Hakkarainen, 23, was selected by the Blackhawks in the fifth round of the 2018 NHL Draft. He had one assist in 12 games last season with Rockford of the American Hockey League and Indy Fuel of the East Coast Hockey League.
Related: NHL trade rumors – Latest buzz for 2022 trade deadline day
–Field Level Media